Though its market segment certainly did exist for a good long while before the Steam Deck made its way onto the market, the niche has now proliferated to an unprecedented level. New competitors to Valve's handheld gaming PC are coming at a brisk pace, and though the Deck remains one of the most powerful devices in this category, a more powerful competitor may have just been announced.
Specifically, the upcoming AOKZOE A1 is seemingly on track to beating the Steam Deck performance-wise, as it's supposed to be the very first handheld gaming PC to come equipped with the powerful AMD 6800U APU. Much has already been revealed about the device at this point, and it seems like AOKZOE is intent on making a name for itself on its first try.
Featuring an impressive 8-inch 1920x1200 screen with a 283 PPI pixel density, the manufacturer claims that AOKZOE A1 will be able to run Forza Horizon 5 at over 100 FPS thanks to its Radeon 680M graphics chip. If correct, these claims would put AOKZOE A1 squarely above the Steam Deck's hardware specifications, the screen of which also renders the image at a substantially lower resolution. It's worth pointing out, however, that it hasn't yet been stated if A1's display will be able to render the game at anything higher than 60 Hz.
AOKZOE is yet to announce A1's price range, though it's worth pointing out that the device will come in at least two different SKUs. A1 Ultimate will have a 65Wh battery compared to the baseline's 48Wh, and it will be heavier. Some versions of the A1 will also have 16 GB of RAM, while others will come with 32 GB, and it's not clear yet if the distinction refers to spec differences between A1 and A1 Ultimate, or if buyers will be able to choose how much RAM they want and perhaps even upgrade it later on, as users can mod the Steam Deck already.
AOKZOE A1 is going to feature all the usual amenities that handheld PC gamers have come to appreciate by now. Gyroscopic aiming and linear triggers are a key example, though the manufacturer also makes notes of quick charging, which should warrant minimum downtime between playing sessions. While the Steam Deck now supports Windows properly, AOKZOE made it clear that A1 would feature full Windows and SteamOS support on day one.
While it's plainly obvious that AOKZOE A1 will be a remarkably powerful device, odds are that Valve is already looking at an upgraded version of the Steam Deck in some capacity. Odds are that the next Steam Deck could feature RDNA 3 graphics, which would give it a leg-up on all of its competitors, including the upcoming A1. That, however, isn't very likely to happen anytime soon, giving other handheld manufacturers an opportunity to move devices in the interim.
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